Locally Nourished

How a stronger regional food system improves the Bay Area

SPUR ReportMay 13, 2013

Each day, millions of Bay Area residents shop at grocery stores and farmers’ markets, cook meals at home, dine at restaurants and compost their food waste. Individually, our food choices impact our taste buds, pocketbooks and health. Collectively, though, our choices have an enormous impact throughout the region — on the future of agricultural land, the viability of thousands of food businesses and the size of our environmental footprint.

Taking steps to strengthen the Bay Area's regional food system can help us preserve agricultural land that is at risk of being developed, promote economic development within the food industry and reduce greenhouse gases by diverting our food waste. Local cities and counties have begun taking action on these steps, but to truly meet the challenge and take advantage of the opportunity facing the Bay Area, policymakers must build upon and accelerate their efforts. This SPUR report recommends a series of policies that would help us capture even more benefits from our food system.

The SPUR Board of Directors reviewed, debated and adopted this report as official policy on February 20, 2013.

This report was made possible with the generous support of the 11th Hour Project, Clif Bar Family Foundation, Columbia Foundation, Clarence E. Heller Charitable Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, Seed Fund and TomKat Charitable Trust.